Central Corneal Thickness in Patients With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose: To compare the central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and control subjects. Methods: The CCT value (measured with ultrasound corneal pachymetry) of 130 eyes (130 patients, 1 eye from each patient) with neovascular AMD (AMD group) and 98 eyes (98 patients, 1 eye from each patient) of similar age, sex, and eye's axial length healthy control subjects (normal group) was compared. Results: The mean age (AMD group: 69.1 years vs. control group: 69.5 years, P = 0.81), sex (AMD group: 77 women, 59% vs. control group: 59 women, 60%, P = 0.77), and eye's axial length (AMD group: 25.05-mm vs. control group: 24.61-mm, P = 0.38) of patients with neovascular AMD and healthy control subjects were comparable. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean CCT measurements in the neovascular AMD group in comparison with the control group (549.44 vs. 544.35 mm, P = 0.11). Conclusions: CCT measurements do not differ in patients with neovascular AMD compared with healthy control subjects

The Counteraction of Cultivated <i>Cistus creticus</i> L. (Rock Rose) Plants to the Strain Imposed by a Long-Term Exposure to Non-Ionizing Radiation and the Role of DDC

Two groups of Cistus creticus seedlings were grown in two chambers under controlled environmental conditions. In one of the chambers, a continuously emitting base unit of a wireless telephone was placed. After fifty days of culture, the two groups of plants were removed and thoroughly investigated and compared. The aboveground parts of the exposed plants were retarded in development while their roots exhibited increased biomass, compared to the controls. There was a minor decrease in the absorbance of the photosynthetic pigments in exposed plants, while an overproduction of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) ROS in their leaves and roots was detected. The expression of the L-Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) seemed to “erupt” following the exposure to radiation in both shoots and roots of the stressed plants, and their roots slow down their secondary development; strangely, the phenolic content is reduced in their leaves, the external topography of which indicates a rather xeromorphic response. We may suggest that Cistus creticus plants, forced by the radiation stress, can finely tune their metabolic pathways in a way that can be useful in the pharmaceutical industry

The Counteraction of Cultivated Cistus creticus L. (Rock Rose) Plants to the Strain Imposed by a Long-Term Exposure to Non-Ionizing Radiation and the Role of DDC

Two groups of Cistus creticus seedlings were grown in two chambers under controlled environmental conditions. In one of the chambers, a continuously emitting base unit of a wireless telephone was placed. After fifty days of culture, the two groups of plants were removed and thoroughly investigated and compared. The aboveground parts of the exposed plants were retarded in development while their roots exhibited increased biomass, compared to the controls. There was a minor decrease in the absorbance of the photosynthetic pigments in exposed plants, while an overproduction of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) ROS in their leaves and roots was detected. The expression of the L-Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) seemed to &ldquo;erupt&rdquo; following the exposure to radiation in both shoots and roots of the stressed plants, and their roots slow down their secondary development; strangely, the phenolic content is reduced in their leaves, the external topography of which indicates a rather xeromorphic response. We may suggest that Cistus creticus plants, forced by the radiation stress, can finely tune their metabolic pathways in a way that can be useful in the pharmaceutical industry

Heat and Cold-Stressed Individuals of <i>Pistacia lentiscus</i> (Mastic Tree) Do Modify Their Secreting Profile

Seedlings from the germinated seeds of Pistacia lentiscus were cultured in plant growth chambers for three months. Then, the plants were separated into three groups. Each group was cultured under different conditions. The first group was left to grow under normal Mediterranean conditions, as those recorded in spring. The other group was subjected to a ten-day heat stress while the last one also suffered a cold stress for ten days. The anatomical features of the leaves (leaf thickness, epidermal cell thickness, number of palisade layers, and development) between these three groups differed. The stressed plants accumulated large amounts of phenolics within their mesophyll cells. The biomass of the cold-stressed plants was minor, while it was high for the control plants. The oxidative stress was hardly detectable in the leaves of the control plants, while their heat-stressed counterparts suffered the highest concentration of reactive oxygen species. Differences concerning the absorption spectra of the three groups of leaves were not significant. An interesting incompatibility between the three groups concerned the expression of L-Dopa Decarboxylase, which climbed significantly in the heat-stressed plants. Finally, an interesting variation was observed concerning the concentrations of some biogenic amines/amino acids. This variation can be correlated to the other stress-induced reactions of the plants and, in some cases, was impressive. In conclusion, environmental stress can shift Pistacia lentiscus’ metabolism to synthesize different biogenic products, which can be considered as exploitable for the pharmaceutical or food industry